As illustrated in FIG. 1, a cellular communication network 10 is supported by numerous base stations 12, which are capable of facilitating wireless communications throughout corresponding cells 14. Generally, each cell 14 is divided into numerous sectors 16, wherein the base stations 12 will have dedicated transmit and receive capabilities for each sector 16. A base station 12 may provide any number of sectors 16 to form a cell 14. For example, there are three sectors 16 forming each cell in FIG. 1, and nine sectors 16 forming the cell 14 in FIG. 2. User elements 18, such as mobile telephones, wireless personal digital assistants, wireless modems, and the like, will facilitate bi-directional wireless communications with the transmitter and receiver electronics associated with a certain sector 16, in which the user element 18 is located. Given the need for cells 14 and sectors 16 therein to be adjacent to one another, a user element 18 serviced by a first sector 16 in a first cell 14 will likely be subjected to transmissions to other user elements 18 from other sectors 16 in the first cell 14, as well as from other cells 14.
The ability of a user element 18 to overcome interference from other sectors 16 and cells 14 is generally a function of the transmit power of those sectors. The higher the power of the signal directed to the user element 18, the easier the user element 18 is able to overcome such interference from other sectors 16 and cells 14. Accordingly, as a user element 18 approaches sector or cell boundaries, the power level associated with the transmitted signal decreases, and the amount of interference from other sectors 16 and cells 14 increases.
Various techniques have been proposed to minimize the impact of such intercell and intracell interference. Unfortunately, these techniques generally provide insufficient coverage at the edge of cells and impose significant penalties on system capacity and throughput, or are very costly and complex to implement. Accordingly, there is a need for a relatively efficient and cost-effective technique for minimizing the impact of intracell and intercell interference.